Principal’s Blog – End of Module 3: Spring Half Term

February half term marks a significant milestone for the UTC, reminding all of us that we are halfway through the academic year; staff and students are planning for examinations with an increased number of interventions, revision sessions and tests being planned. The UTC feels this more than most as half of our annual cohort will be sitting external examinations either at GCSE, ‘A’ Level or BTECs.

This can be a stressful time for our students, with the increased number of examinations, as new qualification changes take hold. Parents/carers and UTC staff play such an important role in managing these levels of stress during this time. Should you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our Pastoral Support Team or alternatively your child’s class tutor.

During this module it was brought to my attention that a significant number of parents / carers have not reviewed their children’s reports online. These reports are available for parents /carers to view at the end of each module. If you do not know how to access these reports, please contact the UTC by emailing info@theleighutc.org.uk who will be able to assist.

The UTC is always looking at new ways to stay in touch with parents/carers; we provide an online facility to view reports, letters and school information and I would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to “like” our pages on social media (FacebookTwitter and Instragram) as these are regularly updated.

Over the last module our students have been actively involved in a range of activities, sitting exams, receiving University offers, interviews for apprenticeships and most importantly preparing for their summer prom. Here are just a few highlights from Module 3:

GCSE Mathematics and English students were thrilled to receive their GCSE re-sit results.

71% of Maths students made progress on prior achievements and also gained a grade C or higher, with one student only 1 mark away from that achievement. 62% of English students made progress on previous achievements by attaining a C, with one student attaining a B.

Students had the opportunity to take part in a wide range of PSHE workshops and events for both KS4 and KS5 students. Topics they covered ranged from; target and goal setting, drugs and alcohol/ law, Sex and relationships, eSafety, mindfulness / resilience, Body image, fitness/healthy lifestyles and the opportunity to apply to UCAS or Apprenticeships for our P16 students.

Huge thank you to our many guest visitors on the day; Motivational speaker and former Engineer Richard Murry, Nurse Julia Bradbury from The British Pregnancy Advisory service and Paul Head from MCCH.org, Kent Fire Brigade, Kent Police, Shout Out UK and Richard Murry, Money Matters. Further PSHE drop down days are planned for later in the academic year.

Year 13 students took a trip to the Ministry of Defence trip to Kineton. Students got the opportunity learn about IED Disposal through the use of robots. Students put their learnt skills to use building their own robots at the UTC.

In January our P16 Political Literary R&D group had a wonderful opportunity as they were invited to the U.S. Embassy in London. The students took part in an afternoon of youth led workshops that explored how British youth engage with the modern media environment to form their political views. Leigh UTC students conducted themselves excellently and lead a number of debates and discussions with students and dignitaries.

P16 Product Design students visited Maybrey Reliance to experience and understand both mass and batch industrial manufacturing techniques. They were introduced to materials testing for alloys, industrial gravity die casting, and sand casting processes as well as one off projects completed for Sir Norman Foster at Foster and Partners. Once again this was an excellent example of our students experiencing real life industrial practices that will support their understanding of the production processes, vital for the students examination and controlled assessments A level units.

Year 11 GCSE Art & Design students had the pleasure of private guided tour of the Tate Modern. This visit has had helped students with the primary research for their GCSE Art & Design exam preparation. The UTC Art students request parent /carers to follow their progress on the UTC Instagram Art & Design account: ‘LeighUTCArtDesign’

UTC students are securing state of the art apprenticeship opportunities, with The Leigh UTC being mentioned in the recent Adgistics case study: Click here to read the article Adgistics Case Study

All Students of Computing and IT had the wonderful opportunity to once again to visit Bletchley Park. During the visit students had a guided tour and introduced to the lives and significant roles of people during WW2. Students also took part in a range of workshops including codes and ciphers, Interception to Intelligence: Land and Sea, mathmatics of Enigma and cyber security. I look forward to seeing the how these mathematical encryption techniques support their classroom learning.

I am proud to announce that the a number of our year 11 students have been selected to take part in the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship. An Arkwright Engineering Scholarship is the most prestigious scholarship of its type in the UK to inspire and nurture school-age students to be the country’s future leaders of the Engineering Profession. The Scholarships are awarded to high-calibre 16 year old students through a rigorous selection process and support students through the two years of their A levels or equivalent qualifications.

Every Scholarship is sponsored by a commercial company, trade association, university, professional institution, armed service, government organisation, worshipful company, charitable trust or personal donor. This means that support is offered in various different ways, for example, valuable hands-on work experience, support for your curriculum project and a personal mentor who can help you with aspects of your studies and career planning.

We wish all of our students lots of luck in the application process and of course I will keep you posted of their progress.

On Thursday 2nd February students in year 10 and 11 took place in the UK Maths Trusts Intermediate Maths Challenge. We have also this year participated in the Senior Maths Challenge for our Post 16 students. The UK Mathematics Trust is a charity that has been set up and designed to advance the education of young people in mathematics. We are proud to offer these opportunities to our students as we find that they are enriching and thought provoking.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a restful half term and I look forward to welcoming students back for Module 4.